When the power grid goes down, a food bank can lose far more than electricity. Freezers, coolers, and washing machines can all stop working, putting food, medication, and an important community safety net at risk.
That’s why a new solar microgrid at Beacon of Hope in Marshall, North Carolina, is so significant. It’s built to keep the building running through even a major outage.
Here’s what to know
The Madison County site, which houses a food bank, thrift store, and laundromat, now has a solar microgrid installed by Rhino Renewables electricians Steve Porvaznik and Ryan Callahan, according to Blue Ridge Public Radio. The system uses rooftop solar panels and battery storage so the site can keep operating even when the larger grid is down.
“We were able to back up the whole store, essentially, with all the freezers and coolers,” Porvaznik told Blue Ridge Public Radio…